MONTREAL/QUEBEC CITY Oct 30 (Reuters) - Quebec's $1 billion
bailout for aerospace company Bombardier Inc is meant
to protect thousands of jobs in one of the province's top
industries, but risks worsening the finances of Canada's most
indebted province if it fails.

The deal would give Quebec's Liberal-run government a 49.5
percent stake in Bombardier's troubled CSeries jet program,
according to the announcement on Thursday, easing shareholder
fears about the company's future but triggering an outcry from
taxpayer advocates and opposition politicians.

"This is what we call corporate welfare," said Aaron
Wudrick, the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers
Federation, adding the deal could lead to long-term costs for
Quebec taxpayers if it fails.

The province, which has practically frozen money for social
services and education as it tries to balance its budget in the
current fiscal year, had a deficit of C$2.35 billion for the
last year ended March 31. There is also public disenchantment
following a wide-ranging corruption probe into the awarding of
construction contracts.

But the fortunes of Quebec's aerospace sector are closely
tied to those of Bombardier, a household name in the province.
Its 18,000-strong workforce in Quebec is largely
aerospace-focused and its presence in the province helps support
many smaller part vendors and suppliers in the region.

The aerospace industry makes up about 10 percent of Quebec's
export revenues, about 1.5 percent of its gross domestic
product, and about 40,000 jobs that pay double the provincial
average - making it an economic lynchpin.

Bombardier is majority-owned by the Bombardier-Beaudoin
family, which has traditionally had close connections with the
political establishment in Quebec.
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